01/15/2024
When I bought my first cab a little more than 30 years ago, the company I worked with had a two-way radio system. That meant  not only could drivers here the dispatcher, but could also talk to each other.
In some ways that was great, because if the dispatcher was busy and you needed directions somewhere (this is long, long before the days of GPS)  a fellow driver could help you out. Being the inexperienced suburban kid that I was, I relied on this a lot.
The downside was that drivers could interrupt each other. So you could be listening to directions you asked for, and another driver with a stronger radio could interrupt.  A lot of these interruptions involved screaming arguments.
It was great entertainment, unless you had an annoyed passenger or were the one trying to get desperately needed information.
So when I needed a radio, I wanted to make sure it was top-of-the-line. I went to this business, called Com-Rad in Des Plaines, owned by Ed Folta.
I can’t tell you what kind of radio they sold me, but it definitely did the job. If I couldn’t get my directions over the air, one click of my radio and nobody would be able to hear anybody. And I used that feature liberally. I was a king.
Eventually, I got out of the cab business to pursue an education but found myself back in the business years later.  That was when I began publishing, a newspaper for the industry called the Chicago Dispatcher.
The model of the newspaper was that it would be free to taxi drivers and cab owners and would be supported by advertising.  At the time I started the newspaper I had no experience in publishing or advertising sales. Unchartered water.
I got a lot of rejection before I put out that first issue  but was determined to put one out and let the chips fall where they may.
A lot of the phone calls I got after it was issued were from people demanding to know who was behind this newspaper.
There was a lot of suspicion and mistrust among those in the industry at the time.
However one call I received stuck with me forever. It was from Ed Folta of Com-Rad who was upset with me that I hadn’t “solicited” him. It stuck with me for a couple of reasons.
My first thought was that nobody I ever knew liked “solicitors.” But here was Mr. Folta demanding to know why I hadn’t solicited him. This was uplifting.
Ed had no idea who I was at the time. He wasn’t calling because he remembered a kid who bought a radio from his company a decade earlier and wanted to support him.
He was calling because he genuinely wanted to advertise his business in my newspaper. It was validation. It was the moment I knew I would succeed and I went on to publish a hard copy newspaper for the next 17 years.
Today I got a message from Kimberly Folta asking me if I still published the Chicago Dispatcher. Her father Ed passed away last week.
Though I’m friends with both Kim and Ed on Facebook I don’t know why but I wasn’t getting her feed anymore as I ordinarily did.
I didn’t know until today that his funeral was this past weekend. I would have liked to say goodbye. So I’ll say it here. Goodbye Ed. I’ll never forget you.
